Wednesday, February 14, 2007

You should knowChris invited me, Brian, and Paul to Boston for a weekend. He was excited to take us to this restaurant, because he loves the wide selection of beers they offer.

So?I had a Kopparbergs Pear Cider to start. It was excellent – sweet and fruity, like a gently sparkling fruit juice. This was dangerous stuff; it didn’t taste hard at all. I highly recommend it. To eat, I had a chicken avocado melt with curly fries (“Golden ale bbq chicken topped with pepper jack cheese, avocado wedges, lettuce and tomatoes on a toasted roll,” $8.50).

Chris had an “interesting” Rapscallion Blessing to drink, and a Cuban Reuben (“Grilled soft loaf bread layered with thinly sliced pickle, ham, pulled pork, imported Swiss cheese, and our ruby-q sauce,” $7.50). He then followed up with a Post Road Pumpkin Ale, which he also described as interesting.

Brian had the steam beer burger (“Our famous ½ lb fresh ground sirloin cooked on our steam grill to preserve its optimal flavor and juices,” $4.89, plus $1.95 for curly fries) and a Vermonter Style Ipswich Harvest Ale that he very much liked.

Paul got a Smuttynose, which he considered “very dry” “no overpowering aftertaste.” His meal was either a special or has been discontinued since then: a T-bone steak with black beans and garlic and scallions.

The waitress also accidentally sent us a pumpkin porter, which was good, but not really my thing. “I hate porters, but this is not bad,” was Chris’s endorsement. Though it’s called a pumpkin porter, it’s really more pumpkin pie spice you can taste, which works pretty nicely. Since no one actually ordered it, she comped it; in other words, the service could have been slightly better, but was pleasant and attentive, and no one was complaining about free beer.

RatingCheck it outWe were all at least satisfied with our meals and drinks; I for one was thrilled with mine. The menu has a lot of variety, though not much for vegetarians, and the beer selection is great.